Palazzo Conestabile della Staffa

(15th century)

Cherubino degli Ermanni built the first palace, having first demolished properties that he bought from the Collegio del Cambio.  The original entrance was in Rimbocco del Cherubino (later Via Sant’ Andrea) to the right, which was closed in 1730 when the adjacent Palazzo Friggeri was built.

The Ermanni family adopted the name “della Staffa” in the 16th century, and was joined with the Conestabile family of Terni in 1796 when Anna Maria della Staffa married Giovanni Conestabile.  Their son, Francesco enlarged the palace in 1816-7.

The Emperor Francis I of Austria stayed here as a guest of Francesco  Conestabile della Staffa in 1819 during his three-week stay in Perugia.  This unscheduled sojourn was caused by the illness of his daughter Carolina.  For this short period, Perugia was the centre of the Austrian Empire: the royal family also took over the adjacent Palazzo Friggeri, while his Chancellor, Prince Clemens von Metternich took over Palazzo Donini.

The Conestabile della Staffa family became extinct in 1870.  The palace passed to the Conestabile family of Terni and the art collection that it had amassed was sold.  This included Raphael’s “Madonna with a book” (otherwise known as the Conestabile Madonna), which was sold to Tsar Alexander II of Russia in 1870 and is now in the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.

Return to Walk I.